2021-07-07

One of the fundamental mitzvot of the Torah, one we acknowledge at least twice a day, is the command to love G-d. “And you shall love the Lord your G…

2021-06-23

It is hard to imagine Jewish life without davening or brachot. They are amongst the most important of our religious practices. One of the ways COVID-…

2021-05-25

“Talmud Torah k’neged kulam, Torah study equals them all”. And in our tradition, learning equates with teaching. The Torah records no actual mitzvah…

2021-05-13

In our last post, we discussed the tragic murder carried out in the Temple by a religious zealot who had lost a race to determine who would have the…

2021-05-08

Newton’s third law of motion teaches that for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. This law explains why it is much easier to hit a…

2021-05-05

We have often noted the refreshing openness of our Sages. They tell it as it is, and made no efforts to cover up the foibles or even sins of their…

2021-04-27

When discussing the gravest of sins—say, for example, the three cardinal sins of murder, adultery and idolatry—we are dealing with sins of commission…

2021-04-18

In a rather fortuitous coincidence, the daf yomi cycle concluded masechet Pesachim just a few days before Pesach. In the Talmud Bavli, masechet…

2014-02-05

Masechet Yoma deals almost exclusively with mitzvoth between man and G-d. Most of the tractate painstakingly records the intricate details of the…

2014-02-03

“Our Sages compared the (positive) mitzvoth in the Torah to the limbs of the body and (the negative) to the days of the year” (Makkot 23b…

2014-01-30

One of the most challenging roles for a parent or teacher is to figure out how to administer discipline that it fair, effective, and meaningful. The…

2014-01-28

Thanks to Rabbi Jonathan Ziring for his help with this Daily Daf and with countless other divrei Torah. After seven chapters detailing the Temple…

2014-01-27

"Any Torah scholar whose inside is not like his outside [whose piety does not match their learning] is no Torah scholar" (…

2014-01-23

Torah reading as we know it today is a rabbinic innovation, beginning with Moshe Rabbeinu who--in his rabbinic role (as opposed to his role …

2014-01-22

The ritual of the sa'ar la-azazel is a most incomprehensible one. Howcan atonement of the Jewish people be in any way connected…

2014-01-21

"Some of the nobility of Jerusalem would escort him to the first booth" (Yoma 66b). The "temple" ritual was not complete until…

2014-01-17

"Everybody is eligible to walk it, but the kohanim made a permanent rule not to let an Israelite walk it" (Yoma 66a). The …

2014-01-16

One of great and tragic figures in our Talmudic corpus is that of Rabbi Eliezer ben Hyrkanus. Hailed by his teacher, Rabbi Yochanan ben Zackai, as a…

2014-01-14

For years, one of the most anticipated dates on the Jewish calendar was Rabbi Soloveitchik’s annual teshuva derasha given during the aseret…

2014-01-10

The relationship between G-d and the Jewish people is often compared to that of a husband and wife. Full of love and even desire, it is meant as a…

2014-01-08

Mashechet Yoma delineates the special Temple service performed on Yom Kippur in great detail--and includes much discussion relating to the daily…

2014-01-06

Great literature lends itself to multiple, even contradictory, interpretations. And the Bible is--in addition to everything else--great literature.…

2013-12-31

One of the major debates in Jewish law is whether mitzvoth require kavanah, intent to fulfill the mitzvah (see for example Brachot13a). As a general…

2013-12-29

There is nothing more challenging and important, for a parent and for a community, than raising children. There is no formula for producing…